Apparatus and method for transmission control of vehicle, and vehicle system

ABSTRACT

A transmission control apparatus may include a determination device that determines a predicted running load on a predetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicle by use of information regarding a grade and a curvature of the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle and determines fuel consumptions for respective gears, based on the predicted running load, a determination device that determines a final gear, based on the determined fuel consumptions for respective gears, and a controller that performs gear shift control for the vehicle, based on the final gear.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0137501, filed on Nov. 9, 2018, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method fortransmission control of a vehicle, and a vehicle system.

Description of Related art

In general, an automatic transmission determines a gear based on a shiftpattern in which shift areas are set in advance from the relationshipsbetween accelerator pedal strokes (APS) and vehicle speeds. A gear shiftbased on the shift pattern is unable to respond to a running load, andtherefore a plurality of shift patterns have to be set for respectivegrades of roads.

However, the transmission of a vehicle calculates the grade of a roadafter the grade is actually changed, and maintains a previous shiftpattern until detecting a grade variation to which a shift pattern basedon the calculated grade is able to be effectively applied.

Therefore, it is difficult to immediately apply a shift patterndepending on a grade variation, and hence a delay in acceleration or abusy shift may occur, degrading fuel economy.

The information disclosed in this Background of the present inventionsection is only for enhancement of understanding of the generalbackground of the present invention and may not be taken as anacknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information formsthe prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing anapparatus and method for transmission control of a vehicle and a vehiclesystem that predict a running load and a required driving forceaccording to the grade and/or the curvature of a section of a forwardroad that the vehicle will reach, and perform a gear shift into a gearcorresponding to the lowest fuel consumption, based on the predictedrunning load and the predicted required driving force, facilitating thevehicle to cope with the condition of the forward road in advance andminimizing busy shift.

The technical problems to be solved as an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention are not limited to the aforementioned problems, andany other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearlyunderstood from the following description by those skilled in the art towhich the present invention pertains.

According to various aspects of the present invention, an apparatusconfigured for transmission control of a vehicle may include acalculation device that determines a predicted running load on apredetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicle by use ofinformation regarding a grade and a curvature of the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle and determines fuelconsumptions for respective gears, based on the predicted running load,a determination device that determines a final gear, based on thedetermined fuel consumptions for respective gears, and a controller thatperforms gear shift control for the vehicle, based on the final gear.

The calculation device may determine a first running resistanceaccording to the grade and a second running resistance according to thecurvature and may determine the predicted running load on thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from a sum ofthe first and second determined running resistances.

The calculation device may predict driving data at the time oftravelling on the predetermined section of the road ahead of thevehicle, based on current driving data of the vehicle and may determinethe predicted running load, based on the predicted driving data.

The calculation device may determine predicted running loads forrespective predetermined time points between a current time point and apredicted time point at which the vehicle completely passes through thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle.

The calculation device may determine predicted required driving forcesaccording to the predicted running loads for the respective time points.

The calculation device may determine the fuel consumptions for therespective gears, based on the predicted required driving forcesdetermined for each time point.

The determination device may determine a gear for the time point, basedon the fuel consumptions for the respective gears.

The determination device may determine a gear corresponding to thelowest of the fuel consumptions for the respective gears to be the gearfor the corresponding time point.

The determination device may assign weighting values to the respectivegears for the respective time points and may determine a final gear,based on the average of the gears for the respective time points towhich the weighting values are assigned.

The weighting values may increase with an approach to the current timepoint.

The apparatus may further include an information collection device thatcollects the information regarding the grade and the curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from anavigation device.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a method fortransmission control of a vehicle may include determining a predictedrunning load on a predetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicleby use of information regarding a grade and a curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle and determiningfuel consumptions for respective gears, based on the predicted runningload, determining a final gear, based on the determined fuelconsumptions for respective gears, and performing gear shift control forthe vehicle, based on the final gear.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a vehicle systemmay include a navigation device and a transmission control apparatusthat determines a predicted running load on a predetermined section of aroad ahead of the vehicle by use of information regarding a grade and acurvature of the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle,the information being collected from the navigation device, determines afinal gear from fuel consumptions for respective gears that aredetermined based on the determined predicted running load, and performsgear shift control for the vehicle, based on the final gear.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view exemplarily illustrating a vehicle system to which atransmission control apparatus of a vehicle according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a view exemplarily illustrating a configuration of thetransmission control apparatus of the vehicle according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4B are views illustratingembodiments referred to in describing a running load determinationoperation of the transmission control apparatus according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are views illustrating embodiments referred to indescribing a gear selection operation according to fuel consumption bythe transmission control apparatus according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 7 are views illustrating embodiments referredto in describing a final gear determining operation of the transmissioncontrol apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission control method for avehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 9 is a view exemplarily illustrating a determining system in whicha method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionis executed.

It may be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily toscale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the present invention.The specific design features of the present invention as includedherein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations,locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particularlyintended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent partsof the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the presentinvention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood that the present description is notintended to limit the present invention(s) to those exemplaryembodiments. On the other hand, the present invention(s) is/are intendedto cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also variousalternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, whichmay be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the appended claims.

Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention willbe described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. Inadding the reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it maybe noted that the identical or equivalent component is designated by theidentical numeral even when they are displayed on other drawings.Furthermore, in describing the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a detailed description of well-known features or functionswill be ruled out in order not to unnecessarily obscure the gist of thepresent invention.

In describing the components of the exemplary embodiment according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first,second, “A”, “B”, (a), (b), and the like may be used. These terms aremerely intended to distinguish one component from another component, andthe terms do not limit the nature, sequence or order of the constituentcomponents. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, includingtechnical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generallyunderstood by those skilled in the art to which the present inventionpertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary areto be interpreted as having meanings equal to the contextual meanings inthe relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted as having idealor excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined as having such inthe present application.

FIG. 1 is a view exemplarily illustrating a vehicle system to which atransmission control apparatus of a vehicle according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vehicle system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention may include a navigation device 10and a transmission control apparatus 100.

The navigation device 10 has a road map stored therein. The road map mayinclude details of each road. For example, the road map may includeinformation regarding the grade and/or the curvature of a predeterminedsection of the road.

The navigation device 10 may extract road information concerning apredetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicle of a vehicle 1 in aresponse to a request of the transmission control apparatus 100 and mayprovide the extracted road information to the transmission controlapparatus 100.

The transmission control apparatus 100 collects the road informationconcerning the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle,from the navigation device 10 and determines a gear at the time oftravelling on the road, by use of the collected road information. Thetransmission control apparatus 100 determines a predicted running loadon the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle by use ofinformation regarding the grade and the curvature of the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle and determines a gear in whichthe fuel consumption is lowest at the time of travelling on the road,based on the determined predicted running load.

A detailed configuration and operation of the transmission controlapparatus 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

The navigation device 10 and the transmission control apparatus 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may beimplemented within the vehicle 1. The navigation device 10 and thetransmission control apparatus 100 may operate in conjunction withcontrol units in the vehicle 1.

FIG. 2 is a view exemplarily illustrating a configuration of thetransmission control apparatus of the vehicle according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the transmission control apparatus 100 may includea controller 110, an interface 120, a communicator 130, storage 140, aninformation collection device 150, a calculation device 160, and adetermination device 170. The controller 110, the information collectiondevice 150, the calculation device 160, and the determination device 170of the transmission control apparatus 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as atleast one processor.

The interface 120 may include an input unit of receiving a controlcommand from a user and an output unit of outputting operating statesand outcomes of the transmission control apparatus 100.

The input unit may include a key button. The input unit may also includea mouse, a joystick, a jog shuttle, or a stylus pen. Furthermore, theinput unit may include a soft key implemented on a display.

The output unit may include a display. The output unit may also includea sound output unit such as a speaker. In the case where the display isprovided with a touch sensor such as a touch film, a touch sheet, or atouch pad, the display may operate as a touch screen and may beimplemented in the form in which an input unit and an output unit areintegrated with each other.

The display may include at least one of a liquid crystal display (LCD),a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFF LCD), an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a fieldemission display (FED), and a three-dimensional (3D) display.

The communicator 130 may include a communication module that supportscommunication interface with electronic units and/or control units inthe vehicle 1. For example, the communication module may establish acommunication connection with the navigation device 10 of the vehicle 1and may receive road information, such as the grade and/or the curvatureof the road ahead of the vehicle, from the navigation device 10.Furthermore, the communication module may receive driving data (e.g.,the speed, the acceleration, the APS, and the gear) of the vehicle 1from the control units in the vehicle 1.

The communication module may include a module that supports vehiclenetwork communication such as controller area network (CAN)communication, local interconnect network (LIN) communication, orFlex-Ray communication.

The communicator 130 may further include a communication module thatsupports wireless Internet access and/or a communication module thatsupports short range communication. Examples of the wireless Internettechnology may include a wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless broadband(Wibro), Wi-Fi, and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), and examples of the short range communication technology mayinclude Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra wideband (UWB), radio frequencyidentification (RFID), and infrared data association (IrDA).

The storage 140 may store data and/or algorithms necessary for operatingthe transmission control apparatus 100. For example, the storage 140 maystore commands and/or algorithms for determining a predicted runningload and a predicted required driving force on a predetermined sectionof the road ahead of the vehicle, predicting fuel consumption accordingto the predicted required driving force, and determining a gearaccording to the predicted fuel consumption.

Furthermore, the storage 140 may store information received from thenavigation device 10 and/or the control units of the vehicle 1.

The storage 140 may include a storage medium such as a random accessmemory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory(ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), or an electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

The information collection device 150 collects information concerningthe road ahead of the vehicle, from the navigation device 10 when thevehicle 1 starts to travel. The information collection device 150 maycollect road information concerning a predetermined section of the roadahead of the vehicle with respect to the current location of the vehicle1. The road information may include information regarding the grade andthe curvature of the predetermined section of the road ahead of thevehicle.

The information collection device 150 may collect road informationconcerning a predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle inreal time or every predetermined time period during the travel of thevehicle 1. For example, the information collection device 150 maycollect road information concerning a 2-km section of the road ahead ofthe vehicle with respect to the current location of the vehicle 1.

The information collection device 150 stores the collected roadinformation in the storage 140. Furthermore, the information collectiondevice 150 may transfer the collected road information to thecalculation device 160 and/or the controller 110.

The calculation device 160 determines a predicted running load on thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, based on theroad information collected by the information collection device 150. Thecalculation device 160 may determine a running resistance according tothe grade of the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicleand a running resistance according to the curvature of the road ahead ofthe vehicle and may determine the predicted running load using thedetermined running resistances.

FIG. 3A is a view exemplarily illustrating an exemplary embodiment ofdetermining a running resistance according to the grade θ of a road, andFIG. 3B is a view exemplarily illustrating an exemplary embodiment ofdetermining a running resistance according to the curvature R of a road.

The calculation device 160 may derive Equation 1 with reference to FIG.3A and FIG. 3B and may determine the predicted running load by applyingthe grade and the curvature to Equation 1 below.

$\begin{matrix}{{RL}_{predict} = {\left\{ {{\mu \; {mg}\; \cos \; \theta} + {{mg}\; \sin \; \theta}} \right\} + \left\{ {\frac{m^{2}}{2l^{2}} \times \left( {\frac{l_{r}^{2}}{C_{f}} + \frac{l_{f}^{2}}{C_{r}}} \right) \times \frac{v^{4}}{R^{2}}} \right\}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, “RL_(predict)” denotes the predicted running load on theroad ahead of the vehicle, “μ” denotes the coefficient of friction, “m”denotes the mass of the vehicle itself, “g” denotes the acceleration ofgravity, “θ” denotes the grade of the road, “1 (=1_(f)+1_(r))” denotesthe distance between the front wheels and the rear wheels, “C_(f)” and“C_(r)” denote the front cornering stiffness and the rear corneringstiffness, “v” denotes the speed of the vehicle, and “R” denotes thecurvature of the road. The vehicle speed after k sec may be predictedand applied based on the current driving data of the vehicle 1.

For example, in the case where the vehicle 1 travels along the path of aroad as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the calculation device 160 may determinea predicted running load, based on road information, that is, the gradeand the curvature of a 2-km section of the road ahead of the vehicle.The predicted running load may be represented as illustrated in FIG. 4B.

The calculation device 160 determines a predicted required drivingforce, based on the predicted running load determined for thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle. The calculationdevice 160 may determine the predicted required driving force withreference to Equation 2 below.

F _(predict) =RL _(predict)½C _(d) ρA _(v) ²+(m+m _(e))a

In Equation 2, “F_(predict)” denotes the predicted required drivingforce, “RL_(predict)” denotes the predicted running load, “C_(d)”denotes the drag coefficient, “ρ” denotes the density of air, “A”denotes the projected area of the vehicle body, “v” denotes the speed ofthe vehicle, “m” denotes the mass of the vehicle body, “m_(e)” denotesthe equivalent mass of a rotating body, and “a” denotes the accelerationof the vehicle. The vehicle speed and the acceleration after k sec maybe predicted and applied based on the current driving data of thevehicle 1.

The predicted required driving force determined by the calculationdevice 160 may be represented as in the graph of FIG. 5A. As illustratedin FIG. 5A, the required driving force graph has a curve graph formwhich is inversely proportional to engine RPM and is proportional toengine torque.

The calculation device 160 determines fuel consumption, based on thepredicted required driving force determined for the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle. The calculation device 160 maydetermine fuel consumption for each gear.

The calculation device 160 may determine predicted running loads forrespective predetermined time points between the current time point andthe predicted time point at which the vehicle 1 completely passesthrough the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle. Forexample, assuming that the vehicle 1 completely passes through thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle in k sec, thecalculation device 160 may determine predicted running loads for timet=1 sec, 2 sec, 4 sec, 10 sec, 20 sec, and k sec from the current timepoint. The calculation device 160 may determine predicted requireddriving forces for the respective time points, based on the predictedrunning loads determined for the respective time points.

The calculation device 160 determines fuel consumptions for respectivegears, based on the predicted required driving force determined for eachtime point.

The fuel consumptions for the respective gears, which are determinedbased on the predicted required driving force for each time point, maybe represented as illustrated in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 5B illustrates a table that shows predicted running loads andpredicted required driving forces for time t=1 sec, 2 sec, 4 sec, 10sec, and 20 sec from the current time point and predicted fuelconsumptions for first to j-th gears at each time point.

The predicted fuel consumption for j-th gear after k sec may berepresented by FE (j, k).

The determination device 170 determines a gear corresponding to thelowest of the fuel consumptions for the respective gears, which aredetermined by the calculation device 160, to be the gear for thecorresponding time point. In FIG. 5B, the gear determined for time t=ksec may be represented by J_(k).

The determination device 170 assigns weighting values to the determinedgears for the respective time points and to determine the final gear,based on the average of the gears for the respective time points towhich the weighting values are assigned. FIG. 6A illustrates anexemplary embodiment of assigning weighting values to the gears for therespective time points.

The weighting values may be differently assigned according to the timepoints. The weighting values may increase with an approach to thecurrent time point and may decrease away from the current time point. Avariation in the weighting values assigned for the respective timepoints may be represented as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

Referring to FIG. 6B, it may be seen that the weighting values assignedto the gears determined for time t=1 sec, 2 sec, and 4 sec are close to1 and the weighting value assigned to the gear determined for time t=10sec is smaller than or equal to one half

The determination device 170 determines the final gear, based on theaverage of the gears for the respective time points to which theweighting values are assigned. The determination device 170 maydetermine the final gear with reference to Equation 3 below.

$\begin{matrix}{J_{OPT} = {{INT}\left\{ {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\left( \frac{J_{k} \times w_{k}}{n} \right)} + 0.5} \right\}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 3, “J_(OPT)” denotes the final gear, “J_(k)” denotes thegear determined for time t=k sec, “w_(k)” denotes the weighting valueassigned to the gear determined for time t=k sec, and “n” denotes thepredetermined number of time points.

The controller 110 controls a gear shift for the vehicle 1, based on thefinal gear determined by the determination device 170. The controller110 compares the current gear of the vehicle 1 and the determined finalgear and performs a gear shift into the final gear when the current geardoes not match the final gear.

As described above, the controller 110 performs the gear shift into thefinal gear before the vehicle 1 enters the predetermined section of theroad ahead of the vehicle, facilitating the vehicle 1 to cope with thecondition of the road ahead of the vehicle in advance.

The transmission control apparatus 100 of the vehicle 1 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention may consistently perform aseries of operations of determining the final gear for the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle and performing the gear shiftcontrol according to the determined final gear, while the vehicle 1travels.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the transmission controlapparatus 100 of the vehicle 1 may determine the final gear every 0.1second and may perform gear shift control according to the determinedfinal gear.

The transmission control apparatus 100 according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, which operates as described above,may be implemented in a form of an independent hardware device thatincludes a memory and a processor for processing each operation, and maybe driven in the form included in another hardware device such as amicroprocessor or a generic-purpose computer system.

Operations of the above-configured transmission control apparatus 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed below in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission control method for avehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the vehicle 1 starts to travel (StepS110) and the accelerator pedal stroke (APS) exceeds 0% (Step S120), thetransmission control apparatus 100 collects information concerning aroad ahead, from the navigation device 10 (Step S130). For example, thetransmission control apparatus 100 collects information regarding thegrade and the curvature of a predetermined section of the road ahead ofthe vehicle.

The transmission control apparatus 100 determines a predicted runningload on the road ahead of the vehicle by use of the informationregarding the grade and the curvature, which is collected in step S130(Step S140), and determines a predicted required driving force, based onthe predicted running load determined in step S140 (Step S150). Thetransmission control apparatus 100 determines predicted running loadsand predicted required driving forces for predetermined time pointsbetween the current time point and the predicted time point at which thevehicle 1 completely passes through the predetermined section of theroad ahead of the vehicle.

The transmission control apparatus 100 determines fuel consumptions forrespective gears, based on the predicted required driving force for eachtime point which is determined in step S150 (Step S160). Thetransmission control apparatus 100 may determine a gear corresponding tothe lowest of the fuel consumptions for the respective gears to be thegear for the corresponding time point. The transmission controlapparatus 100 determines gears for the respective time points in thepresent manner (Step S170).

The transmission control apparatus 100 determines the final gear fromthe gears for the respective time points that are determined in stepS170 (Step S180). In step S180, the transmission control apparatus 100assigns weighting values to the respective gears for the respective timepoints and to determine the final gear, based on the average of thegears for the respective time points to which the weighting values areassigned.

Thereafter, the transmission control apparatus 100 performs a gear shiftcontrol for the vehicle 1, based on the final gear determined in stepS180 (Step S190). Steps S120 to S190 are repeatedly performed until thevehicle 1 stops travelling.

The transmission control apparatus 100 ends the related operation whenthe vehicle 1 stops travelling (Step S200).

FIG. 9 is a view exemplarily illustrating a determining system in whicha method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionis executed.

Referring to FIG. 9, a determining system 1000 may include at least oneprocessor 1100, a memory 1300, a user interface input device 1400, auser interface output device 1500, storage 1600, and a network interface1700, which are connected to each other via a bus 1200.

The processor 1100 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or asemiconductor device that processes instructions stored in the memory1300 and/or the storage 1600. The memory 1300 and the storage 1600 mayinclude various types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. Forexample, the memory 1300 may include a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1310 and aRAM (Random Access Memory) 1320.

Thus, the operations of the method or the algorithm described inconnection with the exemplary embodiments included herein may beembodied directly in hardware or a software module executed by theprocessor 1100, or in a combination thereof. The software module mayreside on a storage medium (that is, the memory 1300 and/or the storage1600) such as a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROM memory, an EPROMmemory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, ora CD-ROM. The exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor1100, and the processor 1100 may read information out of the storagemedium and may record information in the storage medium. Alternatively,the storage medium may be integrated with the processor 1100. Theprocessor 1100 and the storage medium may reside in an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may reside within a userterminal. In another case, the processor 1100 and the storage medium mayreside in the user terminal as separate components.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, theapparatus and method for transmission control of the vehicle and thevehicle system predict the running load and the required driving forceaccording to the grade and/or the curvature of the section of theforward road that the vehicle will reach, and perform the gear shiftinto the gear corresponding to the lowest fuel consumption, based on thepredicted running load and the predicted required driving force,facilitating the vehicle to cope with the condition of the forward roadin advance and minimizing busy shift.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appendedclaims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “up”, “down”,“upper”, “lower”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, “rear”, “back”,“inside”, “outside”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “internal”, “external”,“inner”, “outer”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describefeatures of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions ofsuch features as displayed in the figures.

It will be further understood that the term “connect” or its derivativesrefer both to direct and indirect connection.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thepresent invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described toexplain certain principles of the present invention and their practicalapplication, to enable others skilled in the art to make and utilizevarious exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well asvarious alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that thescope of the present invention be defined by the Claims appended heretoand their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for transmission control of avehicle, the apparatus comprising: a calculation device configured todetermine a predicted running load on a predetermined section of a roadahead of the vehicle by use of information regarding a grade and acurvature of the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicleand to determine fuel consumptions for respective gears, based on thepredicted running load; a determination device configured to determine afinal gear, based on the determined fuel consumptions for respectivegears; and a controller configured to perform gear shift control for thevehicle, based on the final gear.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe calculation device is configured to determine a first runningresistance according to the grade and a second running resistanceaccording to the curvature and to determine the predicted running loadon the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from asum of the first and second determined running resistances.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the calculation device is configured topredict driving data at a time of travelling on the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle, based on current driving dataof the vehicle and to determine the predicted running load, based on thepredicted driving data.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecalculation device is configured to determine predicted running loadsfor respective predetermined time points between a current time pointand a predicted time point at which the vehicle completely passesthrough the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle. 5.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the calculation device is configuredto determine predicted required driving forces according to thepredicted running loads for respective time points.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the calculation device is configured to determine thefuel consumptions for the respective gears, based on the predictedrequired driving forces determined for each time point.
 7. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein the determination device is configured to determinea gear for a time point, based on the fuel consumptions for therespective gears.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the determinationdevice is configured to determine a gear corresponding to a lowest ofthe fuel consumptions for the respective gears to be a gear for acorresponding time point.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thedetermination device is configured to assign weighting values to therespective gears for the respective time points and to determine thefinal gear, based on an average of the respective gears for therespective time points to which the weighting values are assigned. 10.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the weighting values increase with anapproach to the current time point.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1,further including: an information collection device configured tocollect the information regarding the grade and the curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from anavigation device.
 12. A method for transmission control of a vehicle,the method comprising: determining, by a control device, a predictedrunning load on a predetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicleby use of information regarding a grade and a curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle and determiningfuel consumptions for respective gears, based on the predicted runningload; determining, by the control device, a final gear, based on thedetermined fuel consumptions for the respective gears; and performing,by the control device, gear shift control for the vehicle, based on thefinal gear.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining apredicted running load includes: determining a first running resistanceaccording to the grade and a second running resistance according to thecurvature; and determining the predicted running load on thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from a sum ofthe first and second determined running resistances.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the determining a predicted running load includes:predicting driving data at a time of travelling on the predeterminedsection of the road ahead of the vehicle, based on current driving dataof the vehicle and determining the predicted running load, based on thepredicted driving data.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein thedetermining a predicted running load includes: determining predictedrunning loads for respective predetermined time points between a currenttime point and a predicted time point at which the vehicle completelypasses through the predetermined section of the road ahead of thevehicle.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the determining a predictedrunning load further includes: determining predicted required drivingforces according to the predicted running loads for the respectivepredetermined time points; and determining the fuel consumptions for therespective gears, based on the predicted required driving forcesdetermined for each time point.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thedetermining a final gear includes: determining a gear for a time point,based on the fuel consumptions for the respective gears.
 18. The methodof claim 17, wherein the determining of a gear for the respectivepredetermined time points includes: determining a gear corresponding toa lowest of the fuel consumptions for the respective gears to be a gearfor a corresponding time point.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein thedetermining a final gear includes: assigning weighting values to therespective gears for the respective predetermined time points; anddetermining the final gear, based on an average of the respective gearsfor the respective predetermined time points to which the weightingvalues are assigned.
 20. The method of claim 12, further including:collecting the information regarding the grade and the curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, from anavigation device.
 21. A vehicle system comprising: a navigation device;and a transmission control apparatus configured to determine a predictedrunning load on a predetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicleby use of information regarding a grade and a curvature of thepredetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle, the informationbeing collected from the navigation device, to determine a final gearfrom fuel consumptions for respective gears that are determined based onthe determined predicted running load, and to perform gear shift controlfor the vehicle, based on the final gear.